Revenge
by ElegantButler
Summary: When an assault victim is found in an alley, the SVU team up with Edison Carter to find out who it is. When it turns out to be Bryce Lynch, things turn personal for Edison.
1. Chapter 1

Law & Order SVU/Max Headroom

REVENGE

(Author's Note: This takes place in a mixed universe. While the location is primarily SVU, items and terms such as vidicam, credit tubes, and Zik Zak exist within. Also, this is written in British style so there are some stylistic differences, such as the lack of a dot after honorifics such as Mr, Mrs, or Dr .)

CHAPTER ONE:

Jonathan Reys left the Lafayette Grill & Bar after a very satisfying meal and a couple of beers. He would have drank another beer on a Saturday, but this was Sunday night and he had work the next morning.

As he walked down Franklin Street he noticed a bare human leg sticking out from an alley. He ran toward it out of morbid curiosity and nearly vomited at what he saw...

"What have we got here?" Lieutenant Olivia Benson asked in an urgent voice as she hurried into the hospital corridor, meeting up with her colleague Amanda Rollins.

"Rape victim," Amanda told her. "Male. Mid teens. Severely beaten. Broken bones. Internal injuries. Possible brain damage from multiple blows to the head. No ID and no credit tubes."

"Who found him?"

"Man named Reys," Amanda told her. "Was heading to his car from the Lafayette when he saw a leg sticking out of the alley. Said he only checked it out originally out of curiosity."

"Where is he now?" Benson asked.

Amanda pointed at an area of the waiting room where John Reys was sitting watching Edison Carter on Network 23.

"John Reys," Amanda told him, "this is Lieutenant Benson. She'd like to ask you a couple of things about the boy you found."

"Is he okay?" Jonathan asked, his voice concerned.

"He's unconscious," Benson told him. "We don't know if he suffered brain damage or even who he is."

Benson looked up at the TV.

"Why don't you ask Edison Carter to help?" he suggested, watching said reporter on the screen. "He seems to be able to solve any mystery. Maybe he could find out who the victim is?"

Benson looked up at the reporter on the screen. She wanted to point out that Carter's show originated over in London, England. But as she watched, she noticed familiar landmarks behind the reporter. He was apparently in New York.

She remembered that Zik Zak was opening a new restaurant in New York near the area that had once been called the Bowery before it had been converted into a row of restaurants and minimarts.

One of those mini marts had failed to thrive and was now being replaced by one of Zik Zak's Know Chow fast food joints.

Apparently, Edison Carter was in town covering the opening of the restaurant. Well, the Special Victim's Unit had something far more important for him to cover.

Sergeant Odafin Tutuola knocked on the door of the hotel room.

"Edison Carter. This is the police."

Edison threw the door open. "Bryce?" he asked, looking around the detective who stood in the door.

"No. Detective Sergeant Tutuola," the detective corrected him. "Who's Bryce?"

"My coworker and best friend," Edison said. "I went out last night to do a few man-on-the-street interviews. When I came back, he'd gone out. He left a note saying he'd be back shortly. Is he in trouble."

"I don't know," Odafin admitted. "An assault victim was found a few hours ago. He's still unconscious. We found no form of ID on him. I don't know if our John Doe is your Bryce or not.

Edison felt the pain of guilt as he thought of Bryce possibly lying in a hospital bed, badly injured.

"Take me to him," he requested.

"Edison Carter," Lieutenant Benson said as Edison rushed into the hospital with Sergeant Tutuola. "I'm Lieutenant Benson. This is my partner Detective Rollins."

"Where's the kid they brought in?" Edison asked. He needed to find out if it was Bryce as quickly as possible. They could ask questions and do the paperwork later."

"This way," Benson told him as she led him to the hospital room where Bryce had been placed.

Edison walked into the room. His heart sank when he saw Bryce.

Bryce Lynch was lying unconscious on the single bed that was in the room. His head was wrapped in bandages. There was a cast on the lower part of his left arm and another covering his entire right arm. His chest was also wrapped in a cast. Vital monitors beeped steadily as an oxygen mask rested on his face which was bruised around the eyes, one of which was swollen shut.

"Do they know who did this?" Edison asked, his voice full of anger and sadness.

"Not at this time," Benson apologized. "Is this your friend, then?"

Edison nodded.

"Yes. It's him," he answered heavily.

"I know this is hard," Benson told Edison. "But I need to ask you some questions."

"I'll tell you what I can," Edison agreed.

Edison went to the police station with Lieutenant Benson. He followed her into her office.

"Mr Carter, this is Sergeant Tutuola. Sergeant, this is Edison Carter."

"Mr Carter," Odafin said, "you say you know the victim."

"His name is Bryce Lynch. He's my friend and colleague."

"So he does odd jobs for you."

"He actually works at Network 23. He's one of the top graduates from the Academy of Computer Sciences."

"Did he have any enemies? Rivals?" Sgt Tutuola wanted to know. "Assaults of this type of severity usually suggest that the victim was targeted by their attacker."

"You're suggesting that someone wanted to harm Bryce specifically?" Edison felt even worse. Someone had it out for his friend. Or maybe for his entire team."

"The kid's a genius, right?" Odafin asked. "Then some guy decides to rape him and bash his head in. I don't think that's a coincidence. Now think, who do you know who might have a grudge against your friend?"

"The only person who comes to mind isn't a man. Valerie Towne was the head of Security Systems before she was sent to jail following a report I did on her," Edison explained. "She illegally changed my personal info to make it look like I committed credit fraud. I asked Bryce to hack the system and change it back. He wasn't able to, but Max befriended SS's artificial intelligence program, A7, and he was able to convince her to switch it back for me."

"How far did Bryce get when he tried to hack the system?" Odafin wanted to know.

"He got in far enough to get us clearance as housekeepers," Edison admitted. "We got inside and made another attempt. But we got caught and thrown into a thermal testing chamber. A7 released us under Max's request. Otherwise, we both would have died there and then."

"I'll look into this Valerie Towne," Odafin told him. "It's possible she may have hired someone to hit your friend."

"If she did..." Edison snarled, angrily.

"Just leave her to us," Odafin warned. "Your job is to look after your friend. Not to go after his attackers. That's our job."

"I want to be there when they arrest the guy," Edison countered. "I want to see Bryce's attacker brought to justice."

"He will be," Odafin promised.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO:

Dr Morgan studied the unconscious boy who had been brought into the examination room. As a brain injury specialist, he had seen many cases of brain injuries that had been the result of physical violence. Everything from abused wives whose husbands had decided that the best way to control them was to disable them to overzealous football players, who thought their heads were tough enough to handle just about anything they could be rammed into. What he never got over, however, were the deliberate attacks that sometimes happened to teens and children. Some came in from abusive families. Others, like this one, had been the result of someone trying to put a young genius out of commission either as a result of jealousy, or paranoia or revenge.

Whatever the reason was not Dr Morgan's concern, even though it worried him. His job was to examine the patient and hope to god the damage was not irreparable.

"Nurse, I want an OR prepped for immediate surgery," he told Esther Barron, a woman in her early thirties who stood by awaiting his instructions.

"Yes, doctor," Nurse Barron replied, heading off to follow up on his orders.

Dr Morgan turned back to Bryce as he prepared him for a brainscan. As he prepared the neuroimager, he wondered what would happen to his patient when Bryce's diagnosis came through. The boy was a visiting foreigner, and would eventually have to return to London for care. Dr Morgan wished he knew more about London's medical centers and their treatment plans for TBI.

Bryce was placed in the scanner. Dr Morgan carefully went over each part of his brain, frowning as he saw that significant damage had been done. Fragments of bone had gone even deeper than the initial x-rays had shown. Some shards had even gone as far as to pierce the boy's parietal lobe all the way through to the temporal lobe. Viewing the damage on the scanner, Dr Morgan was surprised that the boy was even alive.

Edison stood in front of the new Zik Zak Know Chow. He hated being there. He hated the fact that Cheviot had insisted that he cover the opening rather than allowing him to be with Bryce. Bryce needed Edison more than Zik Zak did.

"This is Edison Carter coming to you live and direct from the Zik Zak Know Chow in New York City," he grumbled. "Fast food. Who needs it? I don't. Do you? Apparently Zik Zak seems to think you do as they've opened up yet another burger joint where you can get all the junk food you like. As long as it's a burger, a sugary drink and crunch fries."

"Cut it," Murray's voice said on the other end of the link. "Edison, I know you're upset about Bryce, but you need to remain professional. Let's try this again. And this time, try not to sound like Max."

"The attack on Bryce really has him on edge," Theora remarked to Murray as they listened to Edison's new spiel. Thankfully, Edison did not repeat his earlier sarcasm.

"It's worse than when Paddy was killed," Murray said, thoughtfully.

"Probably because Bryce is so young, and because he was so intelligent."

"Was," Theora sighed, choking back tears. "We don't know how much of that intellect was spared. "For all we know he's just a vegetable now."

"Let's not give up hope yet," Murray told her. "Until he wakes up we won't know for sure."

"If he wakes up," Theora corrected her boss.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE: The First Suspect

Detective Dominick Carisi Jr was sitting at his desk going over a case file when Odafin Tutuola walked into the office.

"So far we've only got one suspect in the Lynch case," he said. "And she's in jail."

"So we're talking about a hit," Carisi noted. "Who's the suspect?"

"Valerie Towne," Tutuola told him. "Apparently, Lynch got on her bad side when he tried to hack A7." Seeing Carisi's look of confusion he added. "That's Security Systems' artificial intelligence program."

"Why'd Carter ask Bryce to hack Security Systems?" Carisi asked. Hacking was, after all, a serious crime.

"Apparently Towne illegally changed Carter's file to make him look like a criminal," Odafin told him. "Carter just wanted it changed back to the way it was. Bryce wasn't able to make the changes, so Max Headroom apparently sweet-talked A7 into fixing the record."

"So why not go after this Max… what did you say his last name was?"

"Headroom," Odafin told him. "You must've seen him on Network 23."

"I don't watch TV much," Carisi told him. "Just the news."

"Max Headroom is Network 23's artificial intelligence program," Odafin told him. "A real wiseacre. Anyhow, killing a computer isn't very satisfying, so Towne's decided to go after his creator. And that creator is our victim."

"So now we've just got to find out who she hired to make the hit," Carisi said. "If it was someone she spoke to in person, we'll have to get securicam files for the visits she's had since she's been in jail."

"But it might be someone from over here," Odafin suggested. "I'll get London's prison's view phone records and check for overseas calls to the States."

"Have Carter help you out," Carisi suggested. "Sounds like he's doing a good job of it so far."

"Edison Carter is too emotionally involved in this case," Odafin told him. "Lynch was his colleague and best friend according to him. Now he's in a hospital with a severe brain injury and chances are he'll never wake up."

"Life can be real harsh sometimes," Carisi sympathised.

"What about the semen sample from the rape?"

"Doesn't match any perps in our files," Carisi replied. "The guy's either never done something like this before, or he's just never got caught."

"So all we have is the records from the London jail," Odafin grumbled.

Edison sat in the empty hospital room. Bryce's bed was empty, Bryce himself currently in an operating room, under the knife.

Edison was angry. Angry with himself for insisting that Bryce come to the States with him. Angry at Valerie Towne, whom he was sure had hired someone to hurt Bryce. Angry with the unknown man who had hurt Bryce.

He wanted the man exposed for what he'd done. Wanted him in jail. Wanted the story of what he'd done told on Network 23. He wanted to make sure if the man did get out of jail, he'd never find a job or be able to own a home. If, that is, he didn't get the death penalty.

Edison thought about Bryce. About the brilliant mind that was now at the mercy of a surgeon's scalpel. About the immense intelligence that might even now be snuffed out by a man neither Bryce nor Edison knew anything about.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR: Surgery and Waiting

Dr Morgan and his team worked very carefully. Dr Morgan carefully removed the shards and fragments of bone from the teenaged brain with all great consideration and concern while his surgical tech, Amanda Richards, stood by handing him each instrument as it was requested..

On a tv monitor near the ceiling in one corner, Max Headroom popped in briefly to watch the proceedings. But it soon became too strenuous for him and he quietly disappeared from the screen without saying a word.

Dr Morgan's eyes did not show the sadness he felt as he worked. Each fragment he removed took what seemed like forever.

"How's he doing," the doctor asked the anesthetist. .

"Pulse is low but steady," the other man replied.

"Hang in there, Bryce," Dr Morgan prayed as he removed another fragment of bone. "Please hang in there."

"Pulse is falling, doctor!" the anesthetist warned.

"Atropine, point five milligrams," Dr Morgan ordered.

The dose was administered.

"Pulse rate is stabilizing."

Dr Morgan continued working on the injured brain, half-wishing that the boy hadn't survived. He couldn't even begin to imagine how the injuries would affect him. He knew the medical, mental, and physical effects the wounds might have. What would always elude him, he knew, were the emotional and spiritual effects his patients often had to deal with.

"Any word on Bryce?" Theora asked Edison over his vidicam link as he sat in the waiting room near the operating room.

"Nothing so far," Edison told her. "I never should've brought him here. Even if he lives, we might lose him to an institution if his brain injuries are bad enough."

Theora cringed at the thought.

"I hope it's not that bad," she told Edison. "We can look after him if it's not too bad, right?"

"I'd like to believe we could," Edison told her. "I just don't know if I actually can."

"Whatever happens," Theora told him, "we'll get through it."


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE: After Surgery / Fears

"Edison Carter?"

Edison looked up to see Dr Morgan standing over him. The man had a grim look on his face and for a moment Edison feared the worst.

"Bryce?" he asked, weakly.

"Bryce is in recovery," Dr Morgan told him. "Whether he awakens or not remains to be seen. There were a large number of bone fragments lodged in his brain, so I'm afraid it's likely that he will be at least partially disabled."

"In what way?" Edison asked, his heart sinking.

"We won't know until he regains consciousness," the doctor told him. "However, he suffered damage to the parietal and temporal lobe, so our chief concerns right now are Gerstmann's syndrome and communications difficulties."

"Gerstmann's…" Edison began to ask.

"Amongst other things, it is characterized by problems with maths and logic," the doctor explained.

"That would be devastating to him," Edison said. "He was always so proud of his intellect."

"It's a blow he may have to learn to deal with," Dr Morgan explained. "Come to my office. There are some things we'll need to go over…"

Bryce lay on the bed, surrounded by machines which kept a record of his heart rate and brain function. Amidst the other noises, the EEG readings beeped slowly and erratically, his brain struggling to function as normally as it could.

He could hear the sound. He understood, to some simple degree, what it meant. His thought processes had been all but destroyed. He might have a few good ideas left, but he would probably never again be able to reason them out logically. He tried to concentrate on the Fibonacci sequence, an old favourite of his. But he could no longer make it past the first four digits.

He didn't want to wake up. Didn't want to face the average-at-best teenager he'd doubtlessly become. He didn't want to talk, fearing the words would come out indecipherable, or like those of a drunkard. Didn't want to do anything that would drive home the terrible thing that had happened to him.

So he lay there, keeping his eyes closed against the dreaded wakefulness he must one day face.


End file.
